STRESS
a.
b.
c.
G543
Causes of Stress
Measuring Stress
Stress Management
HEALTH & CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Starter Q.


Based on what we’ve learnt, any other knowledge,
common sense: how can we measure stress?
In pairs come up with at least 3 ideas
2. Measuring Stress
a.
b.
c.
Physiological
Self-Report
Combined
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Measuring Stress
PHYSIOLOGICAL
June 2010
Describe one physiological measure of stress. (10)
Assess the validity of different methods of measuring stress. (15)
SELF-REPORT
June 2012
Describe the self-report method of measuring stress. (10)
Compare the different measures of stress. (15)
COMBINED APPROACH
Example
a. Describe combined methods for measuring stress (10 marks)
b. Evaluate the reliability of methods of measuring stress.
Physiological Measures

Physiological measures of stress measure the
body’s response to stress by measuring levels
of physiological arousal. There are a number
of indexes of arousal, e.g. heart rate, GSR
level (skin conductance), blood pressure, and
respiration rate. These four indexes of
arousal are measured by a Polygraph
machine, for example:
Physiological Measures

Arousal can also be measured biochemically
by analysing the levels of stress hormone in
saliva, urine or blood samples. The adrenal
gland secretes stress hormones and levels of
cortisol and adrenaline and noradrenaline
levels can be analysed in order to measure
stress levels.

Task: What are the strengths and weaknesses
of physiological measures of stress?
Internal validity
High
Low
Reliability
Measuring the effects of stress
Measuring the physiological effects

Looking at blood and urine for hormone levels

Using methods such as GSR
Advantages
Disadvantages
Repeat Study: Geer & Meisel



You should focus on the measurements in
particular
Two physical measures were used: the heart
rate and the GSR.
As described earlier, there were problems with
the reliability of both measures – results may
be inconsistent due to malfunctioning/tricky
machinery
CONTROL: GEER & MEISEL, 1972
Aim
Does lower stress result from being able to predict the
occurrence of an unpleasant stimuli or is the lower
stress related to the controlling behaviour itself?
Background
People prefer predictable rather than unpredictable
averse events. By definition, people who control the
termination of a stimulus can also predict its length.
Therefore, people who can predict when an
unpleasant event is going to stop should have a lower
stress response to it.
Sample
60 psychology undergraduates from New York
University.
Here ‘control’ means in control, not a
comparison group.
CONTROL: GEER & MEISEL, 1972
Method
A laboratory experiment involving three groups and using an
independent measure design.
The ‘control’ group saw ten pictures of victims of violent death at 60second intervals with a warning tone ten seconds before each one.
They could press a button to change the picture as they wished.
The ‘predictability’ and ‘no control’ group had no button and instead were
‘yoked’ to the control group.
Joined to.
Procedure
The ‘predictability’ group were unable to terminate or control the
presentation but they knew about the relationship of the warning tone to
the picture so they know when it would come and how long it would last.
The ‘no control’ group had no control and no idea how long each picture
would last. They thought pictures and tones occurred at random. Data was
collected by heart rate monitors and galvanic skin response via a
polygraph.
GSR results showed a clear difference between the prediction
group and the other two, with a much greater stress response to
the warning tone. There was not difference in response to the
photographs between the predictability and not control groups
but the control group itself show a lower skin conductance.
Results &
Conclusions
Therefore, being able to predict what was coming did not seem
to prevent the stress response, whereas being able to stop it did.
Having control over aversive stimuli reduces its stressful impact.
Heart rate monitors malfunctioned and were not included in the
analysis.
3a. Evaluation Questions: PHYSIOLOGICAL
EVALUATION
Why is the study unethical?
Is GSR a reliable measure? Why
What are issues with other measuring techniques?
DEBATES
 How does this study contribute to the ‘Psychology as a
Science’ debate?
 Why is this study low in usefulness?
3a. Evaluation Questions: PHYSIOLOGICAL
EVALUATION
The images may have caused stress to the participant,
breaching ethical guidelines.
GSR is know to be unreliable as are polygraph test
and the heart rate measures.
DEBATES
Use of scientific measures
It was low in usefulness and failed to clarify the
mechanism involved in prediction and control of aversive
stimuli.
Self Report

Holmes and Rahe’s (1967) SRRS is an example of a self-report
measure of stress (see background to Hassles and Life Events as
causes of stress).
See text book or slides in this presentation.

Task




1. Examine the study. Identify challenges to the validity of the
SRRS as a measure of stress.
2. What type of data does the SRRS produce? Identify the
strengths and weaknesses of this kind of data.
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using self report
measures to assess stress levels?
Self-report

Self-report scales are used to measure mood and attitude, such as the general health
questionnaire or the DASS (Depression, anxiety and stress scale) or PSS (Perceived stress scale)
Advantages

Simple and easy to administer

Good starting point – may provide info which leads to further research

Validity: subjective insight into the patients own experience of their mood and attitudes etc.

Rating scales – reliable as replicable

Cheaper than biological measures
Disadvantages

Social desirability bias

Questions are simple so do not get much detail – cannot elaborate (don’t know why)


Scales may be interpreted differently by different individuals which lowers the validity and
reliability of the method
Best to follow up with an interview with a health professional and that works best if you have
good rapport between patient and health professional
Self-reports that measure life events as
trigger of stress
Life scales (there are many including Social Readjustment Rating Scale & Hassles
and Uplifts scale)
Advantages
 Research has shown that life events do cause stress so based on sound research
 Cheaper than biological measures
 Participants know their situation best so this gives first hand insight into their
situation (validity)
Disadvantages
 Terms are often ambiguous, especially in the SRRS – interpretation lowers
reliability and validity
 Stressors listed are very subjective and often not relevant for today (outdated)
 Reductionist as only looks at events
 Much disagreement between psychologists as to which scales are valid
SELF-REPORT
HOLMES & RAHE, 1967
Aim
To create a method of measuring stress to take
account of major events in a person’s life.
Background
It is assumed that certain major life events such as
marriage, bereavement and divorces are major
stressors because they require change and cause the
onset of stress-related illnesses. A tool was needed
which would given an idea of the scale of such
disruption in people’s lives so that doctors has some
idea of the extent they were affecting their patients.
Sample
An opportunity sample of 394 people were used: 179
males and 215 females, of which 171 were single
and 223 were married. They were aged between 2060yrs and were mainly middle class and white.
SELF-REPORT
HOLMES & RAHE, 1967
Method/
Procedure
Results &
Conclusion
A questionnaire containing 43 items was used. Each person
assigned a value to various life events, starting with marriage
which was given an arbitrary value of 500, and working
down a list of 43 items. For each item, participants had to
decide whether the life event would need more or less
readjustment than marriage. The final scores were then
created by working out the mean value for the entire sample
for each item. They were then put in order and the most
stressful event – the death of a spouse was given a value of
100.
Very high agreement (>.90) was achieved between each
group in the sample for each item. Males and females agree,
as did participants of various ages and religions. The lowest
correlation was 0.82 between black and white individuals.
3b. Evaluation Questions: SELF REPORT
EVALAUTION
What are the strengths and limitations of using self-report?
Consider why these may be particularly relevant to asking people about
their stress?
Comment of the generalisability of the sample
Is it a problem that uplifts were not included?
Consider how valid these results will be?
Why is this research useful to doctors?
DEBATES
How will individual /situational debate link with this
method?
How does this related to the nature-nurture debate?
Why could this research be seen as ethnocentric?
3b. Evaluation Questions: SELF REPORT
EVALUATION
 The usual issue with self-report techniques apply. However,
the powerful agreement and large sample suggest this was a
minor effect.
Contrast with the hassles and uplifts scale: this has only the
negative life events and they are major and quite irregular.
DEBATES
Nature-Nurture – are some people more prone to stress?
Is it natural and do some people benefit?
Items conformed to a western way of life so it could be seen as ethnocentric.
Usefulness – the tool has been used by doctors for many years and can give
a score of how much stress a person may have been subjected to in the recent
past.
Combined Approach



Johansson’s (1978) study of work related stress used a combined
approach to measure stress, including
Physiological measures – urine samples were taken five times a
day to analyse for stress hormone levels
Self report measures - each participant had to say how much
caffeine and nicotine they had consumed since the last urine test.
They also had to report on a range of emotions and feelings as
well as sleepiness, well-being, calmness, irritation and efficiency
etc. They had to scale these feelings on a continuum from
minimum to maximum using a scale with millimetres. The score
was how many millimetres from the base point the participants
had marked themselves to be feeling.

What advantages are there in taking a COMBINED
APPROACH to measuring stress?
Repeat Study: Johansson
Work measures were collected through urine
tests, body temperature and self-ratings of
mood and alertness as well as consumption of
caffeine and tobacco on the first or second
day of the working week.
 These measures were compared to a day spent
at home where the participants were asked to
stay up as if there were at work.
 The same four times a day were used for the
tests in both conditions.

You have an overview in your textbook so annotate that or
2a.theSummary
WORKPLACE
slides as we goInformation:
through them.
JOHANSSON, 1978
WORKPLACE STRESSORS: JOHANSSON
Aim
To measure the amount of stress experienced by sawmill workers
and to look for a causal relationships on work satisfaction and
production.
Background
Modern production methods require constant attention to detail on
monotonous repetitive production lines which have increased efficiency
by requiring workers to specialise in particular tasks. However, this has
led to low self-esteem and a lack of work satisfaction in the workforce,
increasing stress-related illness.
Sample
• Swedish mill workers
• 14 high-risk workers, who cut, edged and graded wood – isolated
and highly skilled
• Control group of 10 repair and maintenance workers – more
freedom to set the pace of their own work/socialise
• The mean age of both groups was 38.4.
• All were shift workers paid by piece rate based on group
performance.
WORKPLACE STRESSORS: JOHANSSON
Method
Procedure
This was a quasi-experiment where the workers fell
naturally into the two groups.
• Levels of stress-related hormones were measured using
urine samples on work and rest days.
• Self-report questionnaires were also given to assess
mood, alertness and caffeine and nicotine consumption.
• Body temperature was measured at the time of the
urine sample.
• Self-rating scales were given, rating words such as
‘well-being’, ‘sleepiness’ and ‘irritation’.
• Records were kept of stress-related illnesses and
absenteeism.
These were compared to a day spent at home where
workers were asked to stay up as if they were at work.
Results
Conclusions
Excretion of adrenaline in the urine of the high-risk
workers was twice as high as the baseline and
continued to increase to the end of the day, while the
control group peaked in the morning then declined
for the rest of the day.
Self-reports showed the high-risk group feeling more
rushed and irritated than the control group.
More positive mood was reported by those doing
non-repetitive tasks.
A combination of work stressors such as machine
pacing, repetitiveness and a high level of
responsibility, lead to chronic physiological arousal,
leading to stress-related illnesses and absenteeism.
Reducing work stressors can reduce illness and
absenteeism.
3c. Evaluation Questions: COMBINED
EVALAUTION
 Why does this study have good reliability?
 Does this study have good validity? Why?
 What are the problems with using self-report?
 What are the limitations with the sample?
DEBATES
 Are some people more stress prone than others?
 Is it useful to know about the type of work environment
that promotes stress?
3c. Evaluation & Debates: COMBINED
EVALUATION
Good reliability with the two methods supporting each other’s
findings.
Good validity because it is a quasi-experiment in the field.
Small sample and self-reports could mean problems with
generalising these results to a wider sample in more interesting
occupations.
DEBATES
Situational vs. Individual explanations of behaviour – are some people
more stress prone or is it determined by the situation?
Usefulness – useful to know how to improve conditions for factory
workers. Moving them around the factory gives variety and therefore
reduces monotony and stress.
Psych as a science – yes as scientific and objective measures BUT use of
self report and no control over variables as quasi-experiment
Activity 4
Worksheet 4: Essay Plans

10 Mark Questions

15 Mark Questions
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Measuring Stress
PHYSIOLOGICAL
June 2010
Describe one physiological measure of stress. (10)
Assess the validity of different methods of measuring stress. (15)
SELF-REPORT
June 2012
Describe the self-report method of measuring stress. (10)
Compare the different measures of stress. (15)
COMBINED APPROACH
Example
a. Describe combined methods for measuring stress (10 marks)
b. Evaluate the reliability of methods of measuring stress.
June 2010
Describe one physiological measure
of stress.[10]
June 2012
Describe the self-report method of
measuring stress. (10)
Describe combined methods for measuring
stress (10 marks)
Assess the validity of different methods of measuring stress(15)
Introduction
P1
P2 (counter-argument)
P3
P4 (counter-argument)
P5
P6 (counter-argument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?
Is one method more valid than others?
a. Evaluate the reliability of methods of measuring stress. [15]
Introduction
P1
P2 (counter-argument)
P3
P4 (counter-argument)
P5
P6 (counter-argument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?
Prepare the following question for
a timed assessment next lesson.
Good Luck!
Discuss problems of conducting research into the causes of stress. (15)
Introduction
P1
P2 (counter-argument)
P3
P4 (counter-argument)
P5
P6 (counter-argument)
Conclusion
useful and appropriate?